Daily Briefing

DAILY BRIEFING

January 06, 2009

Cable firm Broadstripe files for bankruptcy

Broadstripe LLC, a cable operator serving customers in northern Anne Arundel County, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday to restructure debt. The St. Louis-based company, which also provides Internet and phone service, said it expects no disruption to service while it reorganizes. Besides serving customers in areas including Glen Burnie, Severna Park, Linthicum, Crofton and Pasadena, Broadstripe operates in Michigan, Washington and Oregon. As of late 2007, about 100,000 homes in northern Anne Arundel had the option of choosing cable, Internet or phone service through Broadstripe, formerly known as Millennium Digital Media. But it was unclear how many customers Broadstripe has in Maryland, and officials did not return repeated phone calls for comment yesterday. Some of Broadstripe's lenders have agreed to provide up to $15 million in debtor-in-possession financing for operating expenses during the court process, the company said. The company filed its petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The company said it hopes to complete the restructuring this year.

Lorraine Mirabella

Sandy Spring's Schrider to succeed Hollar as CEO

Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc., parent of Sandy Spring Bank, said yesterday that Daniel J. Schrider has been appointed bank president and chief executive in a planned succession to replace Hunter R. Hollar, who retired Dec. 31. Hollar, who was with the company 18 years - the last 15 as president and chief executive - will stay on as nonexecutive chairman of the board of directors, and Schrider was elected to the board. Schrider, 44, joined Sandy Spring Bank 20 years ago as a commercial lender and became executive vice president of commercial and credit services in 2003. The bank has $3.2 billion in assets and 42 offices across Maryland and Northern Virginia, where it began an expansion in 2007. Thanks to mergers by other local banks, Sandy Spring says, it is now the state's oldest and largest Maryland-based banking institution. It was founded in 1868 by farmers, most of whom were Quakers.

Lorraine Mirabella

Apple founder says he has hormone imbalance

NEW YORK: Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer whose gaunt appearance in the past year has alarmed the Mac and iPod lovers who look to him as an oracle, said yesterday that he has an easily treated hormone imbalance and will remain in charge of the company. The news sent Apple stock up more than 4 percent on a down day for much of the market. But Jobs did not say whether the problem was related to the cancer, and some analysts said the health watch might not be over. The chief executive officer's health is an important issue for any company, but especially for Apple, where Jobs has presided over a decade of huge success. His mix of secrecy and high-design principles, seen in the rollouts of new Mac computers, the iPod music player and the iPhone, has become a trademark. In a public letter, Jobs, 53, said his thinness had been a mystery even to him and his doctors until a few weeks ago, when "sophisticated blood tests" confirmed that he has "a hormone imbalance that has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy."

Associated Press

Managed care provider Cigna to cut 1,100 jobs

PHILADELPHIA: Managed care provider Cigna says it will cut about 4 percent of its work force, or roughly 1,100 jobs, because of the slumping economy.

The Philadelphia-based insurer says the cuts should be complete by the middle of the year. Those who lose their jobs will be eligible for severance benefits and outplacement support. Cigna Corp. will take an after-tax charge of between $30 million and $40 million in the recently completed fourth quarter related to the moves. Cigna joins competitors Aetna Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. in trimming staff. Aetna said last month it would cut 1,000 jobs, or nearly 3 percent of its work force. In July, UnitedHealth announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs.